Passenger transport Expenditure Topic Group
Visit to Surrey County Council – 28 January 2008
Attendance: Roy Clements, John Metcalf, Malcolm Cowan, Tony Mitchell,
John Sykes, Keith White, Mary Jenkin and Neil Terry
David Munroe – Executive Member
Lawrie James – (title?)
Q1 Background Information
Surrey is a bench-marking authority with Hertfordshire
Surrey has 250 bus routes of which 180 receive a degree of financial support.
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There are 164 contracts and 29 Operators within Surrey.
55% of mileage is contracted in some way.
27 million passenger journeys last year – increase on the previous year
2997/08 Gross Expenditure in Surrey is expected to be in the region of 12
million pounds
Net expenditure of 8.6 million pounds
Average cost per passenger journey is 61p
20 Evening Services of which 16 are funded
24 Sunday services of which 17 are funded
20 Transport for London Tfl services
25 cross boundary routes are operated by Tfl – Tfl have a commitment to
nearest town cross border
It was noted that ‘Home to School Transport’ sits outside of these numbers.
The net expenditure per head of population is 7.84 pounds.
Most quality routes run North to South through the authority. It was noted that
there is a demand for cross county routes in Surrey but operators and users have
differing expectations.
Q2 Upcoming Issues
Surrey is undertaking a major review of bus provision within the County to inform
future decision making. Currently there are no plans to cut bus services.
Consideration is being given to ‘Hub and Spoke’ networks to be used more
widely if it provides better value for money.
The review of services will be shaped by what the authority can afford with
Districts contributing towards community services - there are 11 Districts within
Surrey
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Surrey CC run the concessionary scheme as an ‘honest banker’ and the net
concessionary budget is 2.5 million pounds.
Q3 Financial / Staffing Costs
It was noted that problems were experienced in this area most acutely in 2002
with costs escalating at this time.
Drivers and operators receive greater funding from Mr Livingston than from
Surrey CC!!
Method of calculating rate of return for each route?
The history of each route is considered.
New criteria is based around a scoring system.
 Scores contracts on a weighted basis
 Availability
 Time of day
Value for money is defined as ‘weighting for Strategic Importance’
External Funding
BAA have currently a 1million pound contract which is due to be removed.
Camberley route ?? has been boosted by Section 106 funding and has helped
raise patronage by 45-50% but the pot of funding is now empty.
Realtime Information
Pilots in place in Woking and Guildford – 5 year old system
Revenue funding required to operate it which limits roll-out.
15% of county has realtime information
Difficult to gain evidence that it increases patronage / usage.
Section 106 / LTP Funds
The sums received in Surrey are not huge.
Development Control are becoming more stringent in requesting these funds. A
roof tariff is also scheduled to be introduced.
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700 – 800,000 pounds gathered each year.
Creates problems with funding 3-5 years down the line when pot runs dry.
Miscellaneous Questions and Answers
Operators take the revenue risk in Surrey which is the opposite to Hertfordshire.
Operators have to provide a full breakdown of costs in their bid for services.
What’s the impact of the new Transport Act?
A – Not a great deal in it for quality contracts so not much of an issue in Surrey.
Rural routes and impacts on Best Value Indicators?
A – Accessibility indicators, closely linked to Surrey’s review of bus services
How much has been invested in bus priority schemes in Surrey?
A – Vehicle intelligent traffic lights and a limited use of bus lanes. Like
Hertfordshire the road network is unable to accommodate bus lanes.
Transport for Surrey
Total expenditure of 40 million pounds plus per year, includes school transport
and SEN transport provision.
Student Fare Card Scheme
Child rate offered for 16-19 year olds (50% discount)
Train student fare card scheme – only covers a season ticket between home and
college / school
The cards do not apply to Tfl routes within the county.
Stagecoach tried to implement a two thirds fare scheme – this was not well
received.
Average cost of fares?
A – One stop hop costs between 90p and 1 pound. Where TfL runs services,
lower fares follow.
ATCO Figures
Surrey prefer these figures as they are more up to date and accurate.
** (identified as a possible key finding / recommendation)
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Not many villages / hamlets within the county that don’t have a service. 90% of
the costs of these services are made up in peak hour by taking children to school.
Any thoughts on feeder routes to main bus corridors?
A – Dependant on whether these routes offer value for money? London Travel
Watch covers the TfL routes.
Any bus user groups in Surrey?
A – Bus Users UK. Surrey has found it difficult to engage with users.
Higher Quality Vehicles?
A – Not active in buying buses for operators – included in contract (Hertfordshire
has done this in the past)
Bus Shelters?
A - All shelters are District / Borough funded, SCC ensures information is
provided in the shelters
Roadside Printing and Publicity?
A – 10 Area Train and Bus Guides (broadly based on Districts)
Integration with rail services?
A - Co-ordinate SCC services when they can. Focus on providing better
interchange facilities.
The Passenger Transport Liaison Group meets twice a year to discuss ways of
raising patronage with Bus Operators.
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